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O Christmas Tree

Jon and I made a trip to Lowe's and picked out our very first tree. As you can see, Jon had a great time going through and pulling out all of the trees I wanted to see. :)

It didn't take us long to find a winner, and I was ecstatic. We brought home a 7' fraser fir.

I had heard a great idea from a friend to keep the bottom part of the tree trunk that gets cut off after you buy it and make an ornament out of it. I'm not sure what I want to put it on it, if anything, but I think it will be cool to look at it in the years to come and always be able to remember our first tree. So we loaded up the tree and the excess pieces trimmed from the bottom of it (these are a great to add around your house for free decor) and headed home.

I had already moved the bookcase that was in the corner of the living room to make a space for the tree. I knew I wanted it to be in our view if we were sitting on the couch (our usual hangout) that way we could enjoy it as much as possible. Once we got it all set up in the stand, it looked like this.

I almost love it just as much in its authentic state with a few lights as much as I do all dressed up. There's just something about rustic elements in a modern space that really appeal to me. BUT since I had two boxes of ornaments I've been collecting over the past couple of years, I knew I had to put them to use. And I must say, I'm glad that I did. I'll post the "after" in my next entry along with photos of the rest of our holiday decor.

Gunner's daddy's "going home" outfit greeted guests at the sign in table, along with a framed "Southern gentleman in the making" print.

A variety of centerpieces graced the tables with groupings of baby mementos, flowers and photos.

An antique baby basket helped house the gifts.
The drink menu consisted of milk, apple juice (one of Lauren's cravings), fruit-infused water and coffee.
The menu was made of a variety of brunch goodies including fruit, doughnuts, muffins, shrimp and grits, breakfast casserole and a waffle bar.
And of course no shower is complete without a little something sweet. These b…

Auden turned one on November 11th and we celebrated at our home with close family and friends. The theme of the party was pumpkins and pearls. Pun'kin is one of the nicknames I called her when she was little and pearls bring a girly flair and tied into our reveal party when we found out we were having a girl so it seemed perfect.

I had so much fun creating her invitation and all of the party printables. And for a little extra adornment, the invites were tied with jute twine and placed in scalloped envelope. Invites available for purchase here.

Here's the sweet birthday girl in her homemade hat. I love how the bow on top turned out :) Her birthday stats poster is now available here.

The smash cake table with our go-to milk jars (Starbuck frappuccino glasses) with paper straws. The tree slab plate they are sitting on was also used at our wedding. The smash cake was a $10 cake from Public and Auden LOVED …

Over two months later, I'm finally getting around to posting on my nephew Cohen's first birthday! Because he was born just six days before Christmas, it was important to my sister, Meredith, to have a party to make him feel special, separate of the normal seasonal celebrations. And I'm always up for a planning a good party!

Since Cohen was little baby, he has loved giraffes. First introduced with the paper mache bust hanging over the changing pad in his nursery(here), my sister says he's been a fan ever since. Using that as the inspiration, the party planning began. Meredith found an invitation she liked at Tiny Prints and thus the color palette of green, yellow and brown was established.

Cohen wore a monogrammed yellow chevron coverall on the big day, and the cheerful pattern was also used throughout the party. To create a prominent backdrop on the fireplace mantel, we covered a remant piece of beadboard with chevron fabric. It made a big statement with little…